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Postnatal development of 3 H‐GABA‐ accumulating cells in rabbit retina
Author(s) -
Redburn Dianna A.,
Madtes Paul
Publication year - 1986
Publication title -
journal of comparative neurology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.855
H-Index - 209
eISSN - 1096-9861
pISSN - 0021-9967
DOI - 10.1002/cne.902430105
Subject(s) - retina , biology , population , retinal , outer plexiform layer , inner plexiform layer , microbiology and biotechnology , period (music) , cell , neuroscience , anatomy , biochemistry , physics , acoustics , demography , sociology
Light and electron microscopic autoradiography demonstrates that 3 H‐GABA is accumulated by horizontal cells in neonatal rabbit retina but not in the adult. A specific population of horizontal cells appears to be mature at birth and they avidly accumulate 3 H‐GABA during a 15‐minute incubation period in vitro . Uptake into horizontal cells is not observed after the fifth postnatal day; 3 H‐GABA‐accumulating horizontal cell bodies and their processes are the first identifiable components that clearly mark the future location of the outer plexiform layer at birth and as such, may be considered pioneering elements. Our observations raise the interesting possibility that the pioneering horizontal cell may provide structural and/or chemical factors necessary for the subsequent development of the outer plexiform layer of the retina. Labeling patterns of other retinal cells also show varying degrees of change during development. (1) A population of amacrine cells accumulate 3 H‐GABA at birth. These cells show little change in their morphological or 3 H‐GABA uptake properties from birth to adulthood. (2) Müller cells show weak accumulation of 3 H‐GABA at birth. Subsequent to this time, labeling of Müller cells is significantly more robust, resulting in Müller cell domination of retinal autoradiographic patterns in more mature retinas. (3) Every cell body in the ganglion cell layer accumulates 3 H‐GABA at birth. The number of labeled cells declines during postnatal development, resulting in a very limited adult population. We conclude that the ability of retinal cells to accumulate 3 H‐GABA does not remain constant during postnatal development; rather each cell population displays a unique maturation sequence that results in a dramatic developmental shift in the number and types of GABA‐accumulating cells present in the retina.